


The town with pep

by CrownsAndMilkshakes



Category: Archie Comics, Riverdale - Fandom
Genre: AU, And Betty is caught in the middle, Betty is good with cars, Betty sees right through him, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Featuring our favourite detective duo, Juggie is secretly a softie, New Girl Betty, Semi Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, There is a turf war in Riverdale, friendships, mentions of abuse, northside vs southside, serpent Jughead, slight angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:48:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22614355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrownsAndMilkshakes/pseuds/CrownsAndMilkshakes
Summary: All Betty wanted was a peaceful senior year, but the universe had other plans.To escape a bad situation, Betty has to move to Riverdale in the middle of the school year. Only the town with pep is not the safe small town it tells you it is. Betty gets thrown into the middle of a turf war where she has to choose carefully who her friends and enemies are.Who can she trust?Certainly not the blue-eyed serpent prince. So why can't she stop thinking about him?
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Cheryl Blossom/Veronica Lodge
Comments: 15
Kudos: 92





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this story back in season two and recently stumbled upon it again, so I decided to post it.
> 
> This explores the idea of how all the characters in Riverdale would be, if they had never known Betty. Jason Blossom is still dead, but the murderer was never caught. The same goes for the Black Hood.
> 
> This story is unbeta'd and english is not my first language, so sorry for all the mistakes.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this first chapter!

When Alice Cooper had walked into Betty’s room and announced they were moving to a small town called Riverdale and thus Betty had to transfer schools in the middle of senior year, Betty had been upset. To say the least. 

Change scared her. Betty liked being in control and being thrown into a new situation abruptly was the opposite of being in control. But she didn’t let that knock her down. After a short screaming match with her mom that ended with Alice saying they were moving in a week and then slamming her door shut, Betty started up her laptop and typed Riverdale into google. Preparation always made her feel better, so she tried to find out all there was to know about this town.

Which wasn’t a lot. Riverdale was an absolute mystery. There were a few news articles that mentioned Riverdale, but they weren’t all that helpful. The town’s only claim to fame was its weird obsession with Maple Syrup, the only export item that the town produced.

After searching for fifteen minutes she finally found the official Riverdale website. There wasn’t a whole lot on there, some pictures which gave off an old-school vibe. There were photos of a local diner and a drive-in that looked like they were straight out of the 50’s, the houses were completely ordinary.

Then there was the school. It looked nice enough, nothing really special about it. Definitely not as extravagant as Toledo Academy, but Betty had always longed for something more ordinary. 

It seemed like Riverdale was the perfect small town and living there would be quite uneventful and maybe that was exactly what she needed. The last few months had been stressful and emotional for her whole family and this could provide a different atmosphere that allowed her family to heal. 

She felt calmer about the move.

Now as she was standing in front of Riverdale High on her first day of school all the nerves came racing back. She wondered if her mother had accidentally dropped her off at the wrong school, even though that was impossible as there were no other schools in Riverdale. The building in front of her, however, shared little resemblance to the pictures she had seen.

It was covered in graffiti, some colourful and honestly beautiful pieces but mostly there were angry scrawled words which were rather crude and completely inappropriate for a school building. There were two windows covered with wood and the front doors looked heavily damaged, but Betty realised that despite all that it was indeed the same building that was featured on the website.

Her entire body was covered in goosebumps. She didn’t think a school like this existed in the real world. She felt like she was being catfished by a building.

Then her eyes fell on a prominent piece of paint on the front of the school that she hadn’t noticed before as she was too shocked. It was the classic Riverdale R that she had seen everywhere, but now there was a snake wrapped around it.

Betty didn’t have a lot of fears. As a kid her mom always told her fear was weakness and Coopers didn’t have weaknesses, so she always tried to overcome her fears. Despite that she absolutely despised snakes and if that wasn’t a sign she should run away from this place immediately she didn’t know what was.

But she shook her head slightly and took a deep breath. There’s no turning back she thought, so she squared her shoulders and walked through the doors of the mysterious high school.

“Are you Betty Cooper?”

Betty was standing by the reception where they had told her to wait for the student who would be showing her around. She turned around to find a guy with brown hair and a happy smile walking towards her.

“I am.”

He stopped in front of her and held out his hand. “Thought so. We don’t often get new students here. Nice to meet you. I’m Kevin Keller and I will be your guide through the crazy storm that is Riverdale.”

Betty smiled while shaking his hand. “You really know how to sell this place.”

“I am nothing if not honest and while I haved lived here my whole life, I do realise this town is crazy and really good at hiding it,” he said with a knowing smile.

He started to walk and gestured for Betty to follow him.

“No kidding, you do realise that the pictures of the school on the website look nothing like the actual building right?”

“Yeah, those were taken three years ago,” Kevin said this casually like it was normal for a building to change that much in such a short amount of time.

“Three years? How did all this happen in three years?” Betty looked at the walls and the lockers in the hallway they were in. The inside of the school looked actually worse than the outside.

“Well, that is a long and tragic story,” Kevin looked thoughtful for a moment. “and I don’t know how much I should tell you. I don’t want to freak you out too much.”

His tone was light, but his face showed that the story definitely wasn’t.

Betty was curious, but she figured it was best to quietly observe for now, so she followed after Kevin who had changed the topic of conversation to the classes they shared.

It turned out that she shared all her classes with Kevin, so she was glued to his side the first half of the day. He showed her which locker was hers and where the student lounge was, which was completely empty. He told her about all the teachers and introduced her to some classmates who all seemed nice.

Betty felt herself relax as the day progressed. She was grateful she was being shown around by someone as outgoing and sweet as Kevin and thought maybe this would all turn out better than she hoped.

The bell rang signalling the end of english class. Betty was lucky that the book they were reading now was one she had to read last year, so she could actually participate.

She looked at the schedule to find that they had lunch period now. Next to her Kevin was packing his bag and smiled a bit uncertainly at her.

“Prepare yourself, this is where it is going to get more dramatic,” he said as he walked out of the classroom.

Betty walked quickly to catch up with him. “You mean lunch period?” 

Kevin nodded. “You’ve had an easy morning, because most of our classes were prominently filled with northsiders. Now you’re going to be thrown into the territory war that goes on in Riverdale.”

When they entered the cafeteria Betty immediately saw what Kevin meant. There was a clear divide in the room. The side that they entered into was populated with people wearing letterman jackets and cheerleader outfits, bright coloured clothing and the Riverdale R was plastered onto every table, bag and jacket.

The opposite side was populated by people who wore black and plaid and sported mean scowles. There were also a lot of leather jackets which were either adorned with spikes or snakes.

Betty felt herself shudder once again at the sight of snakes.

“The cafeteria is divided into the northside and the southside. We eat on this side,” Kevin explained.

“Are they from gangs?” 

“They are indeed. The edgy kids with all the spikes over there are the ghoulies. They’re the smaller gang, they deal drugs and cars. Some rumours say they also deal in guns. They can’t do a lot of harm, because of their small numbers, but you should still stay away from them.”

He started moving towards the lunchline and Betty was close behind him. Careful not to make a mistake that would get her unwanted attention.

“They’re crazy those ghoulies, but they’re contained by the serpents. They own basically the entire Southside. They are the ones you should be really careful of, especially the serpent prince and his lackeys.”

Kevin was saying all this while he was examining the questionable food in front of him. When he finally decided on a slice of pizza he turned back to Betty and gestured with his head.

“You see the big table on the Southside.”

Betty looked in that direction and saw in the middle of the room, close to the border which divided the cafeteria, a table with a snake sprayed onto it. The people sitting there all wore leather jackets with a snake head on the back.

The first person who caught her eye was an extremely tall guy with a snake tattoo on his neck. Betty briefly wondered how painful it must have been to get a tattoo on that particular spot before remembering that he was a gang member and was probably used to pain. The guy looked mean, a scowl on his face and an aura that told everyone to stay away.

Next to him stood a petite girl. The height difference between the two was comical. Nevertheless the girl looked just as threatening with a serious expression on her beautiful face. 

They were both talking to a guy who was sitting crossways on the bench, because of this Betty could only see his back and saw the double headed snake embroidered on it. It was different from the jackets the kids around him were wearing. He also wore a grey beanie on his head that looked like a crown and it was such a weird contrast with the angry leather.

As if he could feel her eyes on him he turned around to examine the room like he was looking for the culprit. His gaze went right over her.

“That is Jughead Jones AKA the serpent prince. He basically runs the gang and that makes him one of the most dangerous people in Riverdale.”

She found it hard to believe he was a gang leader. She examined his face, now that she could see it, and saw that he had a babyface, which didn’t help, and dark bruises under his eyes which contrasted his light blue eyes that were still sliding across the room.

“He doesn’t look dangerous,” Betty said, not quite able to take her eyes off of him. “He looks tired, angry maybe. Not dangerous or scary.”

Kevin placed a hand on her shoulder making her look at him. “Don’t judge a book by its cover. He is very dangerous and you should stay away from him.”

His hand moved from her shoulder to her hand and dragged her to a lunch table nearby. While they were walking she kept glancing towards the serpent, unable to stop herself from looking despite Kevin’s warning

“Guys, let me introduce you to our newest best friend, Betty Cooper,” Kevin said when they stopped by one of the tables.

Betty felt embarrassed by Kevin’s exclamation and at the same time felt a wave of affection for her new friend.

She turned her attention to the table in front of her and observed all its colourful occupants. The person that stood out was a latina beauty with raven black hair. She reminded Betty of the students at her previous school with her designer clothes and perfectly made up face. This girl had an air of confidence and money around her. 

“I’m Veronica Lodge. We’re so glad you’re here. Nothing exciting ever happens.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Betty shook Veronica’s hand and was surprised by the firm handshake.

“I mean ordinary exciting. It’s no fun when someone gets stabbed, but a new student is something new in a harmless way,” she smiled as if what she just said was a normal thing to say.

Veronica took over from Kevin and introduced everyone at the table.

“This here is Archiekins,” she gestured to the boy half draped over her.

Betty had seen the redhead walking around in the house next to hers. Their bedroom windows faced each other and she had already seen a lot of him, a bit too much actually. It was great to see he actually owned shirts.

“Those two are Reggie and Moose,” Veronica pointed at two huge guys in Letterman jackets sitting opposite them.

“And this is our very own Beyoncé, Josie,” The girl smiled politely at Betty before she went back to looking at her phone.

“It’s so nice to meet you all,” Betty said while putting on her best Cooper smile.

Veronica pulled her down next to her and Kevin took a seat next to Moose who smiled awkwardly at him.

“So where are you from? I want to know everything about you mystery woman.”

Betty had expected this, she had been prepared for questions. Obviously people wanted to know about the new girl, but despite that she still tensed up. Talking about her past wasn’t easy and the moment someone started asking about it she felt on edge. However, the look on Veronica’s face was friendly and curious with no hidden agenda, so Betty told herself to relax. It was a normal question a lot of people were going to ask.

“I lived in Toledo. Went to a high school called The Academy,” she answered.

“O my god! I have heard of Toledo Academy. That is one of the most prestigious schools in the country, only the super rich get to attend,” Veronica looked shocked probably wondering why the girl beside her had attended such a school.

Betty chuckled. “Yeah, I didn’t really fit in. The principal owed my dad a favour and that’s how I got in.”

“That must have been a hell of a favour,” Archie commented beside Veronica. His hand was now resting high on her thigh.

Or a hell of a bribe, Betty thought.

“Then why did you move in the middle of senior year. Graduating from that school would look amazing on college applications,” Veronica questioned.

“Because of my parents. They are both journalists who always wanted their own paper, so when they saw that they could buy the Riverdale Register they jumped at the change, dragging us all to Riverdale.”

Betty considered this a half truth. She didn’t want to lie to her new friends, but if she wanted to keep them it was the only way.

Veronica put her hand on Betty’s. “That must be tough. I remember what it was like to be the new kid,” she smiled sympathetically and Betty felt understood just a little.

After lunch Betty found herself walking to her science class with her arms linked through Veronica’s while Kevin and Archie followed them.

They entered the classroom and Veronica walked to a table where a single boy was sitting, when he looked up to see the raven haired beauty standing in front of him he quickly packed his bag and moved to another table. Before Betty could question this exchange, Kevin grabbed her hand and led her to the table. She expected Archie to follow them and sit with them as the table seated four, but she saw he was already sitting next to a gorgeous girl and was laughing with her.

“That’s Valerie,” Kevin said. “Archie’s conquest of the week.”

She looked from Kevin to Veronica who didn’t seem bothered at all.

“Oh, I thought you and Archie…” she stammered awkwardly. She had only been here for a few hours. She didn’t want to offend anyone with the assumptions she made.

“That Archie and I were together,” Veronica finished for her. “We were and we still are in some ways. It’s complicated.”

“Amen to complicated relationships,” Kevin muttered.

“Anyway, it’s nothing serious. The boy is absolutely girl crazy, so don’t be surprised if he starts flirting with you.”

This startled Betty. “What? Why me?”

Veronica looked amused. “Because you’re female and a total smokeshow.”

Kevin nodded along to this statement.

Betty felt herself blush and focused all her attention on the teacher who just walked into the classroom

The rest of the day went quickly. The entire time she was flanked by either Veronica or Kevin. She was both thankful for that and a little skeptical, but she told herself to stop questioning people's motives and just enjoy her new friendships.

They told her a little about the school’s history. How there used to be two schools in Riverdale, but two years ago the school on the southside closed and all the serpents and ghoulies got enrolled at Riverdale High. Ever since, there has been a turf war not only in Riverdale but in the school itself.

When they were done with school they took her to a diner named Pop’s. It was the same diner that had been featured on the website and Betty was relieved to see that it still looked the same.

Pop’s was populated by both Serpents and Northside kids, even though there was still a clear divide in where they sat.

“Pop’s is neutral,” Kevin explained. “It means too much to everyone.”

The hour they spend there had been filled with crazy details about the town’s history and questions about Betty’s life in Toledo. She also drank the best milkshake she ever had and understood why people treasured the retro diner so much.

Veronica and Kevin walked Betty home afterwards and Veronica hugged her goodbye saying how happy she was that Betty had moved to Riverdale. She smiled at the statement and waved them goodbye before entering the house.

Betty closed the door behind her as quietly as possible in the hopes that she could slip into her room undetected. She didn’t want to deal with her mother right now. 

She had no such luck.

“Hello dear,” her mother called out from the living room. Betty made a note to herself to improve her sneaking around skills.

She walked towards the living room where her mother was waiting for her with a cup of tea and several baked goods, like the perfect mother she so desperately wanted to be. Betty made an effort not to scoff at the normalcy of the picture in front of her, instead she smiled just like her mom wanted her too.

“Hello mother,” she was being overly polite in civil defiance.

“Did you make a good first impression?”

Of course that was the first thing her mom asked. Not the normal questions like how was school or did you make any friends. She only cared about impressions and reputations. That’s why they moved to Riverdale, to have a new beginning and to have a good reputation.

“Yes, mother. I’m sure the principal already has me on his potential valedictorian list,” she heard the sarcasm in her voice, but didn’t care.

Alice raised her eyebrows, but didn’t mention it. In fact she just kept quiet.

She spoke up again when Betty made steps towards the stairs, indicating she was leaving.

“Were you okay?”

The question surprised Betty and made her look back at her mom who in return was just staring at her cup. It sounded sincere and caring, two emotions Betty wasn’t used to her mother emoting.

“Yes, I was,” she whispered before she left to go upstairs.

Once in the safety of her own room she crashed into her bed and closed her eyes, letting the tension drown out of her body. Her first day had been good, kind of weird, but good nonetheless. Still, meeting new people and being in an unknown environment had made her stressed out and tired.

She opened her eyes and looked around her bedroom, which was still full of unpacked boxes. The new room had been decorated by her mom. While it resembled her room back in Tolede, mostly because of the pink, it didn’t truly feel like hers.

Here she was in a strange room in a strange town craving something familiar. Her eyes landed on the picture on her desk, the one she hid from her parents while they were moving. She sees herself smiling back at her and next to her, with an identical smile, is her sister. 

“Hey, Pol,” she whispered. “I wish you were in this crazy place with me.”

She let herself fall back on her bed, hoping that she is able to go through there months normally, but she suspected that nothing in Riverdale was normal. And that her life here was going to be anything but uneventful.

Her suspicions were proven to be correct the next morning.

She was walking through the halls of Riverdale High half lost, half in thought, when she bumped into someone. As she stumbled a few steps back , she saw a wall of black leather and in the middle of that wall were two blue eyes glaring at her.


	2. Chapter 2

Jughead looks down at the person who just walked into him, only to find green eyes staring back at him.

“What do we have here?” he hears Sweet Pea say. “New meat.”

The green eyes widen, as if she just noticed how close she’s standing to him and she takes a step back. Jughead sees that a pretty girl is the owner of the eyes, a girl he doesn’t recognize.

She must be the new girl everyone is talking about. He heard she arrived yesterday and that the northside already claimed her, which isn’t a surprise as he looks her up and down. She looks like the typical, privileged Northsider with her tight ponytail and pastel sweaters, the very image of the good girl stereotype.

Her being new also explains why she’s walking around in serpent territory and why she doesn’t look afraid of him or the other six leather wearing guys behind him.

Jughead isn’t necessarily a scary looking kid, most people are shocked when they find out he is one of the most notorious members of a motorcycle gang and he knows this.

So he makes sure that he reminds everyone of his reputation.

The guys behind him are quiet as they wait in anticipation, wondering how he is going to deal with this naive girl. He straightens his back and squares his shoulders, to make sure he looks his full height and lets a smirk come over his face.

“New meat, indeed.”

He takes a step closer, their shoes almost touching. He is about half a head taller than her, so he has to look down. Which helps when you try to scare someone.

“What are you doing in my hallways.”

She regards him and the group behind him before she smiles politely.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see your name on these walls, so I didn’t think I needed your permission to walk here.”

It’s probably meant to sound sarcastic, but she sounds incredibly sincere. This girl looks like she couldn’t say a mean thing even if her life depended on it.

Jughead grins at her, not in an amused way, but in a dangerous way.

“That’s where you are wrong. You see that snake there.”

He points towards a serpent that was painted on the wall next to them. It was one of the first things Sweet Pea and Fangs had done when they arrived at Riverdale High, to tack their turf.

“That serpent represents me and my name, so you most definitely need my permission to enter this part of the school.”

His eyes turn hard and he leans close to her, their faces only an inch away.

“Now run back to your Northside friends and don’t come back here.”

Most people, when he threatened them, took a step back, shrunk smaller or at least averted their eyes. This girl does none of that. In fact she straightens her own back and looks him straight in the eyes. He expects to see something like fear in them or maybe anger. Instead he sees curiosity and a challenge, like she wants to figure him out, understand him, wants to know why he is acting this way. It takes him aback for one second.

This girl could be dangerous.

After staring at each other for a minute, she smiles and takes a step back.

“I will go find my friends as their company is much more enjoyable.”

She turns on her heel and walks away without saying another word.

That didn’t go the way it was supposed to go.

“Are you just going to let her walk away like that,” Fangs asks.

Jughead shakes his head slowly, feeling a little unbalanced and wondering how she turned the situation around on him. She hadn’t shown defeat or weakness by being the first to walk away, it actually was the other way around.

“Forget it, she’ll learn soon enough. No need to make it a bigger deal than it is,” he says.

Sweet Pea and Fangs both look at him weirdly, knowing this is not how he normally reacts.

“Let’s just go,” Jughead walks away in the opposite direction the girl left in.

Later Jughead is sitting in the corner of the student lounge, still thinking about his meeting with green eyes, when the book he is staring at gets snatched out of his hands. He looks up irritated at his two friends who are staring back with the same irritation.

“Jug, what the hell,” Toni says while waving the book in front of him. “We were calling your name for like 30 seconds.”

“The power of a good book, speaking of which, give it back.”

He tries to snatch it, but Toni holds it just out of his reach.

“Never mind the book, Jones. Tall boy just called me. He said he has a lead where the new hangout of the ghoulies is and he has a new job for us,” Sweet Pea says.

“Fascinating,” Jughead grunts back. The other serpents know that he isn’t the biggest fan of Tall boy and doesn’t trust his intentions.

“Come on, Jug. The ghoulies want war and this could give us a huge advantage. There are rumours they’re hoarding guns and even explosives in one of their dens. We have to move now or we could be too late,” Toni is looking at him with pleading eyes.

Jughead just glares back at her. “You’re going to skip class, because Tall boy told you so. To follow one of his untrustworthy leads. Last time I checked, he wasn’t your leader.”

“No, but this order came from FP,” Sweet Pea shoots back. “Besides, it’s just school, dude. Why do you care so much?”

Because I want us all to graduate and if you miss anymore classes you won’t be able to. Because I want a better life for all of us.

Jughead doesn’t say any of this, though. He just stands up, grabs the book back from Toni and says. “You guys do whatever you want, but I’m not going.”

Sweet Pea glares at him. “You might be able to choose which orders you follow, because you’re FP’s son, but we don’t have that privilege.”

It sounds like something he would’ve said three years ago. When Jughead just joined the serpents and Sweet Pea despised him. He had been a part of the gang since he was a kid and he embraced the life, was proud of it. Jughead had tried to stay away from it, only to walk into the Whyte Wyrm at 15 and declare himself a serpent. Most members accepted him, he was the son of their beloved leader after all, but Sweet Pea declared his disdain for the Jones boy loudly.

Over the next year, Jughead proved himself worthy of the title serpent prince and he and Sweet Pea became friends.

But sometimes that barrier between them was still present.

Jughead stares back coolly. He doesn’t want to start a fight, but he isn’t going to back down either.  
Toni, obviously not wanting this tension to grow, nudges Sweet Pea. “Let’s just go, Pea.”

Sweet Pea doesn’t say anything, just turns his back to Jughead and starts to walk away, only to stop again and look over his shoulder. “You better still be at the race.”

“Of course,” Jughead replies before sitting back down and looking at his book, refusing to watch his fellow serpents disappear through the doorway.

Jughead’s sitting alone in English class, because all the other serpents are out on the job. He’s irritated about that. Irritated that no one seems to care about school or their future, neither the young serpents nor the older ones who are supposed to care and lookout for them. Not even his own father.

Laughter pulls him out of his thoughts. In front of him are Archie and his crew which now includes the new girl.

She left quite the impression on him after their encounter this morning. He wonders if her fearlessness had been due to ignorance, because she didn’t know him or the serpent. He doubts that, he saw the sparkle in her eyes which said she knew exactly what she was doing. Maybe she wanted a fight, wanted to rebel.

That intrigues him about her, way more than, as Sweet Pea put it, her smoking body. The entire morning he had gone on and on about the new chick and how hot she was and if he would have a chance with her. Jughead loves Sweet Pea like a brother, but he is a neanderthal when it comes to women. Jughead agrees that she is objectively beautiful, but he had never cared about those kinds of things.

Despite that, he realises he’s staring at her when Archie turns around in his seat and makes eye contact with him. His old childhood friend actually dares to look at him with a disapproving expression. It is a look Jughead didn’t even know Archie could manage. The kid he knew was so much like a puppy, so gullible and believed the best of everyone. 

But time changes everyone.

They had been best friends, he trusted Archie with problems about his home life and Archie always tried to help him. They did everything together, they were family.

Now the golden boy is looking at the serpent with disdain, anger and sadness. They have both changed a lot in the last few years.

He glowers at the redhead and Archie quickly turns back around.

The rest of the class goes by slowly. Jughead already read the book they are discussing years ago, so he spends the time daydreaming, thinking of plotlines for his novel and looking at a certain blonde ponytail swaying as the girl attached to it leans over to whisper something in Veronica’s ear.

When the bell finally rings, he puts his books away and tries to get out of class quickly. Just because he thinks school is important doesn’t mean he actually likes it. But a hand on his shoulder pushes him back in his seat. Reggie Mantle’s stupid face appears in front of him and behind him are 5 jocks who are going to be nothing but trouble.

“Where are your snake friends,” Reggie asks. “Finally decided that school is wasted on them.”

Jughead rolls his eyes, Mantle is the last person to talk about wasting school. He has heard rumours that his dad pays the principal good money to keep his grades up, he just doesn’t have the evidence yet. The moment he gets his hands on it, he will destroy the idiot standing in front of him.

“Get your hand off me, Mantle”

Reggie laughs. “Not so tough now without all your friends. You try to act cool with the leather jackets and gang symbols, but you are still the pathetic little nerd you always were.”

Something in Jughead’s brain snaps. He always tries to stay calm, he believed in brain over brawn. But him and Reggie have history and he will never let himself be disrespected by the jock again.

He moves fast, he grabs Reggie’s hand and twists it behind the Jock’s back. A small sound of pain escapes Reggie’s mouth and he tries to get out of the hold Jughead has him in, but to no avail.

“You are one to talk, Mantle. The only time where you dare to approach me is when I’m alone and you are surrounded by your brainless followers. If it is a fight you want, I will give it to you. But just the two of us, then you will see who the bigger man is.”

Reggie turns his face and Jughead can see the fire in his eyes. He looks like he is about to accept when Archie’s voice interrupts them.

“Let him go, Jughead,” he says. “I will make sure he causes you know trouble.” There’s no friendliness on the redhead’s face. Just exasperation.

Jughead looks around him and sees that all his classmates are looking at him in fear, even the teacher looks like he is scared to interrupt. 

Good, Jughead thinks, don’t try to come near me. 

But then he sees Green Eyes and she doesn’t look scared at all. She has that same expression she had this morning and it unnerves him. He holds her gaze when he shoves Reggie forward finally letting him go. He grabs his bag and makes his way through the crowd, wanting to get out of the classroom that suddenly feels to small for him. On his way he pushes his shoulder into Archie’s and says, “Learn to put a leash on your dog.” 

His dad is lying on the couch with a beer in his hand when Jughead enters the trailer. He didn’t expect his dad to be there, because of all the talk about important serpent jobs he thought his dad would be at the Wyrm. He stills when he sees the beer bottles on the floor, but when FP looks at him, he relaxes a little. His eyes are still sharp which means he is tipsy at worse, that is something Jughead can handle.

FP smiles. “Hello son,” he says too loudly.

“Hey, dad. I didn’t expect you to be here,” Jughead speaks carefully, he doesn’t want to piss his father off.

His dad looks at him for a while in silence, before getting up from the couch and making his way over to where Jughead is standing.

“I was waiting for you, boy,” he stops right in front of him. The little boy in Jughead wants to back up, but instead he rounds his shoulders and looks FP straight in the eyes.

“You see, all the young serpents were out there today doing a dangerous and honorable job and I was surprised to hear that you weren’t with them.”

The smile on his face turns into something more dangerous, an expression Jughead knows all the well.

“My question is, why weren’t you there leading your soldiers?”

“I was at school, trying to learn. Something you used to value.”

That was the wrong answer. FP shoves him against the wall, holding him in place by his collar.

“Don’t be such a smart mouth,” he growles. “You wanted to be a serpent, so it’s time you start being serious about it.”

Jughead shoves his father away from his. “I am serious. I’m just not okay with stupid missions that accomplish nothing.”

He starts walking towards the door, wanting to get out of the trailer and away from his dad.

“There are better ways to win against the ghoulies if only you would listen to me,” he says over his shoulder.

FP scoffs. “We tried one of your plans, remember and it ended up being a colossal failure. Just like you.”

Jughead stills at the word failure, hearing it inside his head over and over again.

“Well, good news, dad. I’ve just found the one thing you and mom agree on,” he opens the door and almost runs out.

The bell rings when he walks into Pop’s. It’s late, so the diner is empty safe for a couple who are nursing milkshakes in the back. The owner himself is behind the counter and gives Jughead a gentle smile. He nods his head as a way of greeting and walks to his regular booth in the back.

The moment he sits down, he finally feel himself able to relax. Being around his dad will never be easy for him and even though he is now stronger and able to protect himself, it still messes with his mind. But the familiarity of the diner that has been a second home to him puts him in a better mood.

He gets his laptop out of his bag and is ready to pour all his thoughts out on the page, when Pop appears next to him.

“What will it be, Jug?”

As if on cue, Jughead’s stomach rumbles and he realizes how hungry he is, so hungry he doesn’t think it could ever be satisfied. But when he sneaks his hand into his pocket to see how much money he has with him, he only feels a few coins.

“It’s just going to be a coffee, Pop,” he answers with a tense smile.

The older man furrows his brow and looks like he is thinking about something, before nodding and turning back towards the kitchen.

Jughead looks at his computer, at the blank page that is mocking him. Writing has always come easy to him, a lot easier than speaking. He used to get punished for speaking without thinking, so now he prefers to stay quiet and think over his words carefully. Most of the time, at least.

This laptop is his safe space, with writing he could let go of all that. It is an outlet for all the thoughts and feelings he can’t speak out loud. It is his therapy and he is good at it.

Two years ago, he started writing a novel, inspired by the death of Jason Blossom. He had spent countless of sleepless nights writing and investigating. It was his dream to get the book published and to get out of Riverdale with it, but when the investigation came to a halt so did his novel. He tried to move on, to tell a different story, but his mind refused and he hasn’t been able to write a new story since.  
A plate with a double cheeseburger and onion rings on it appears in front of him. He looks up to see Pop smiling at him.

“I didn’t order this,” Jughead says feeling a little ashamed. He knows what Pop is doing and he hates feeling like a charity case. He has spent the last few years making sure no one would see him as one ever again.

People used to look at him with either sympathy or disgust, mostly the latter. He would get thrown up against lockers and was called things like trailer trash or waste of space.

So when he transferred to Southside High and saw that there was a group of people who were willing to be his family, his support system, he grabbed it.

That it was the same gang that indirectly destroyed his own family was something he ignored for his own sanity.

He pushes the plate to the edge of the table. “You should take this back,” he says sternly.

But Pop laughs and pushes it in front of him again. “I can’t do that, I already made it. It’s on the house, Jug. You’ll pay me back when your book gets published.”

His stomach grumbles again and he is reminded of the fact that he hasn’t eaten anything since breakfast. His hunger wins out over his pride and he smiles somewhat defeated at the older man.

“I’ll dedicate my book to you.”

The diner owner laughs again and pats him on the back. “You’re a good kid, Jughead. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” he walks away leaving Jughead a little stunned, but mostly grateful.

After thanking some higher power for making people like Pop Tate, he attacks his food.

Jughead spends the next few hours in the diner. He switches between staring at his computer screen, willing words to appear, and quick naps. The diner is thankfully completely empty at night, apart from the occasional truck driver, so no one knows he often spends his nights like this. Pop is great at keeping secrets.

He wakes up when a truck driver enters the diner and gives his order too enthusiastically. He looks at his phone to see it’s 5.30 in the morning. That is just enough time for one cup of coffee to really wake him up, before he leaves for school.

He waves at one of the waitresses. She’s new here and thus doesn’t know him as a regular customer who often stays here at night.

She comes over already looking weary, but when she’s by his table and gets a good look at the tattoos covering his arms, the color completely leaves her face.

“What can I get you?” she speaks softly.

He looks her over and guesses she can’t be much older than him, maybe a year or two.

He gives her a small smile which he hopes is reassuring. “Can you give me a refill of coffee, please?”

She seems taken aback by his polite tone, but quickly recovers and goes to grab the coffee pot to fill his cup.

“Thank you,” he says and then something unbelievable happens, her face goes from white to red. She’s blushing.

“You’re welcome,” she stammers before quickly walking towards one of her coworkers. She whispers something in her ear while shyly looking in his direction.

Jughead rolls his eyes, he will never be able to figure out the female species, drinks his coffee in two gulps and leaves the diner. He walks to Riverdale High, because he forgot his bike by the Whyte Wyrm yesterday.

Once he arrives he walks to the back of the school. There’s a lot of damage done to the building, but especially the doors. Some locks don’t work properly anymore. He gives the door in front of him one calculated push and sure enough, it flies open.

He heads to the gym for a quick shower, before he goes to the Blue and Gold to work on the paper.

The Blue and Gold office is his personal space. No one bothers him here, not even the other serpents.

He settles in for an hour of writing in complete peace.

It’s 7.45 and Jughead’s fingers are racing over his keyboard. He has a serious case of writer’s block when it comes to his novel, but he is pumping out articles for the Blue and Gold at a ridiculous rate.

So when the door opens, he feels a flash of irritation. He’s about to yell at Toni to leave him alone as she is the only one who dares to bother him, but when he looks up he doesn’t see Toni.

Instead he sees a girl with a blonde ponytail and big, green eyes that he has only seen once up close, but for some reason have been imprinted in his brain. Betty Cooper just walked into his office looking as surprised as he feels.

This is going to be interesting.


End file.
